Elder Brother
by Tarawyn Worldwalker
Summary: The Rahkshi are dead and the Toa of Light has come, but the saga isn't quite finished yet. And I wouldn't count on a happy ending... [OneShot]


Elder Brother

By Mutant Muaka, as inspired by reaperofsouls and Star Wars: Clone Wars

**Elder Brother**

The poisonous purple blood of the slain Rahkshi lay thick on Kini Nui's cracked and death-tainted stone. The still-rising suns were blinding balls of harsh light to the east. Takanuva stood by the burst dome, and his eyes were as unforgiving as the suns.

"We must do it now, as one. Kill Makuta, and rid our land of this evil!" His newly Toa-sonorous voice boomed deep into the pine thickets. Flocks of birds burst from them like blood from a new-torn wound.

"I second that. We must strike immediately, while our enemy is off-guard. Show no mercy- each second lost is worth another Matoran's life if we fail." Tahu growled, attempting to take the spotlight back from the newest Toa and show that he was still Toa enough for the task. He put his hand forth.

"Who's with us?"

"I'm in." Everyone was startled to see Gali place her azure hand on Tahu's scarlet. "More lives will be lost to Makuta's evil if he is not stopped, and Mata Nui awakened soon."

"If she's in, I'm in!" Pohatu was the first to break the silence. He winked and put his hand over Gali's.

"Hey, me too!" Lewa laughed. With a backflip, he launched himself into the air and hovered upside down, hand cast with the others.

"Tahu is right. Now is the time- at any other, Makuta has the advantage. We may catch him off-guard this way." Onua's large hand joined the others.

Wordlessly, a white hand joined the others. Takanuva sealed the pile.

"All right then, let's go."

One by one, the Toa dropped into the jagged-edged hole. The remains of the dome stuck up like teeth rimming a gaping mouth. Endless yards of slimy tunnel greeted them.

"Never gets more cheerful, does it?" the Toa of Air asked, sardonically. The others ignored him as they walked on down into the belly of the beast.

The trip was surprisingly shorter than it had first appeared. Perhaps Makuta's sons had wished a more direct route to the surface than the Toa had originally traveled. Or maybe it was carelessness; after all, they were supposed to be dead or converted by now. But the lair itself was not far, nor was there anything barring their way. The only other life they encountered was a tiny cave gecko with beady red eyes.

As the Toa stepped into the main cave itself, they were greeted by a warm, golden shower. Takanuva's golden armor clanged as he hit the ground, blood still flowing freely from his ripped-out throat. His eyes were death-grey before the dust settled.

Makuta stepped forward, bowing, from the shadows. The last traces of his cave gecko disguise vanished as he twirled the two-pronged staff in his hand. The blades, like the fangs of the Dark Serpent, dripped golden blood.

"Right then, we've taken care of the annoying little Chronicler. Now the real battle can begin," the Master of Shadows chuckled. Tahu launched himself forward, shielding reflexively and lashing out with both swords burning red-hot, as Lewa dove for his enemy's head. Makuta turned, almost casually back-handing the Toa of Flame across the room.

Lewa pulled out of his dive a half-second before he would have smashed into the ground and pulled around for a slashing return. Gali sprung like a Muaka as the green warrior slashed with both Katana at Makuta's neck and chest. Much to both being's surprise, one of Lewa's strike landed as the Master of Shadows swept his staff around to block Gali. Her axes caught on the handle, and she was dragged with them as Makuta swept his weapon around to imbed it in Pohatu's chest.

The Toa of Stone looked surprised, and the expression never left his eyes, even as thick brown blood spilled over the floor.

"Surely you have more fight than this?" Makuta asked, sounding near-genuinely surprised. Onua's eyes were dark with rage as he slammed his Quake-breakers into the earthen floor. The cave rocked, the ground bucking like a living beast. The shyest Toa was not even bothering to try with words to explain his anguish.

"AAAAAARRRAAAGH!"

Kopaka struck! Fast as a serpent and with a surgical precision, he cut at Makuta's legs, hamstringing him. The spirit fell to the rocking floor, but suddenly there was no more twenty-foot giant there, but instead a terrifying beast. The dragon was nearly half as large as the great chamber, with a skull-like head and obsidian scales that seemed to absorb all light. The long, spiked tail lashed out, throwing Onua into the wall. Indigo eyes laughed as the snakelike head whipped forward to fix Kopaka in its sights.

"Little Toa, did you think it would be that easy?" he mocked. The white Toa readied himself for death.

DarkFire streamed out of his mouth. Kopaka refused to acknowledge the pain, even as he died. Gali was shocked to see the depths of his wounds when the stream of shadowy fire vanished. The Toa of Ice was most certainly dead, and he had died in icy silence. His remains were little more than a charred skeleton and scorched armor.

"Regroup!" the Toa of Water pleaded, dodging behind a glowing pillar as DarkFire lashed out. Tahu, Lewa and Onua joined her. The Toa of Earth was panting raggedly, and black blood leaked from his chest and back, matting his soft fur.

"Onua, you're—"

"Down!" barked Tahu. All four surviving Toa hit the floor as the pillar exploded above them. Chunks of crystal and a viscous green substance rained down around them. The Toa of Fire raised his shield unconsciously. With a thunderous clatter, the last of the rubble crashed to the floor, and there was silence, but for the steady drip of the green goo.

Tahu nervously lowered his shield for maneuverability, raising it back over himself. The others followed suit.

Lewa screamed. In the few seconds he hadn't been shielded, a vicious shadow had knifed past him, and twin emerald lines crossed his back. They darkened with poison immediately.

Makuta stood before them, resembling one of his own sons. The double-bladed staff rested comfortably in his claws. His scales were a mottled rust-black like the infection stealing over Lewa's mask.

"I dearly hope I didn't interrupt anything- I just got so TIRED of flee-and-find," he snarled, leaping into the air. Tahu coughed as the demonic spirit zipped past, raising dust from the stone floor. Lewa twitched on the floor as his mind and body fought against the poison clawing its way into his system.

Onua fell back- he would wait until a distraction or rescue was needed by the others, then-

"Mhhhhhine!" Black-and-crimson claws shot out of nowhere. Makutarahk's demonic eyes flared in triumph as he seized Onua's powerful shoulders in his wickedly sharp talons. The Toa yelled, then screamed as a set of silver and gold talons, sharp as lasers, bit into his chest, curling under his armor into the leather padding and powerful muscles beneath.

"Bhhhhack offff, sssssunworrrm! Thhheee Toahhhh-sssscum iszzzz mhhine!" Takarahk shrieked, plunging his staff-end into his fellow's shoulder. The Rahkshi of Darkness screamed in agony, letting go of the black warrior's shoulders to attack the other.

Gali and Tahu circled Makuta like dying wolves challenging a Muaka. The Rahkshi-formed Spirit laughed, dancing away or merely deflecting every blow they aimed at him.

Onua clutched his right shoulder, staring at the grappling Rahkshi. Of course there were more than six of the foul beasts- he should have realized that! He tried to concentrate his energies on healing himself, but an unearthly shriek drew his attention upwards.

Between a Rahkshi and a terrible bird of death was Lewa's dive, and his scream was a bestial one of glee and pain. Onua stumbled backwards, activated his Hau... Lewa circled, vanished, appeared again with his Pakari Nuva on and his Katanas gleaming sickly green in the light of Makuta's pillars. His eyes were a foggy, nearly dead gray, yet they still managed to brighten to a smile. Cat-fast reflexes allowed him to land a flurry of lightning strikes, each with the force of the Pakari behind them.

Clutching, suffocating darkness enveloped the coal-black Toa. He emitted one strangled gasp, braiding tentacles of shadow stretching from beneath his mask from his mouth. The infected Lewa whipped his blotchy mask around. Sweeping aside Gali's rolling attack without looking, Makuta said,

"Thought I'd lend you a hand, Lewa. Why don't you try for the blue Toa instead?" Lewa stood there, unmoving, emotionless, crouched for combat, eyes locked on the female Toa. Gali was lying low, assessing her injuries. Tahu was kneeling, gasping and trembling. Takanuva, Pohatu, Kopaka and Onua lay where they'd fallen.

And yet...

The red warrior raised his eyes to currently monolithic spirit... he shook harder, the edges of his lava-swords lighting. His scarlet eyes narrowed to lines of fire behind his mask; he lowered his weapons, seeming to come to some decision.

An ageless, primal roar burst from Tahu's throat. No one saw how he first exploded into action, but his first, last, only goal was to reach Makuta, to kill the Karzahni-bound Master of Shadows. Smirking in condescension, Makuta swung his staff. It ricocheted off the Toa's armor, all its wielder's prodigious strength having no effect.

Again, and again, he swung, the gashes he carved in Tahu's exposed skin bothered him no more than a faint breeze. Fear began to show in the spirit's eyes. He summoned a mass of DarkFire- it washed over the Toa, parting like a shallow stream. This time Makuta aimed his power of shadowsdoom at Tahu, as he had Onua. He merely lunged closer.

Panic set upon Makuta, visible in the indigo and scarlet eyes unaccustomed to fear's pulsation. He fired one last mass of shadow, nearly lost everything when his target burst through the resulting smokescreen, merciless, unstoppable.

"The Death-rage." Gali stared in awe and horror. Makuta ran in a terror long-unfelt in his blackened heart. He swapped shapes at lightning speed- Muaka, Rahkshi, Titan, Toa, dragon, Kane-Ra... and then to Lava-hawk that screeched and took off for the ceiling, beating his leather/blade wings with hummingbird speed.

Tahu's Miru Nuva carried him upward. Frozen, the spirit stared at his unpitying opponent, and finally knew true regret. Then a sword-swipe separated the lava-hawk's head from its spindly neck.

At the last second, Makuta reverted to Titan form, as though to die in a shape worthy of it, or perhaps in order to whisper, "and so the Gatekeeper fails..." His neck reformed around Tahu's blade- then the hero heated it, melting protodermic armor and burning away the flesh.

His final job complete, the spirit of one more warrior winged its way to Valhalla. Tahu and Makuta fell together to the floor, bloodless but dead.

Gali took a step towards the still forms, then another. Suddenly, the shock-wave swept through the entire cave. Takarahk and Makutarahk, still fighting, shrieked in agony as their forms dissolved. Lewa echoed their cries. He fell forward, only to be caught by... Pohatu. The green Toa's mask drained of color as Infection crumbled from it, his eyes reciprocally gaining color.

The Toa of Water ran to both of them. "Pohatu! You're ALIVE! How-!"

"I was unconscious for most of the fight, but I managed to heal myself." the brown warrior explained with a sad, weary smile that left his eyes as soon as it had appeared. All three bowed their head with respect to the dead, then turned as one as the last of the dying Rahkshi's screams faded to face the bodies of Makuta and Tahu.

"Look, a Suva." Lewa pointed out at length, mask still gray as dust. Craggy black rock was formed into a large shrine behind Makuta's still form. Gali led the way to the rough structure, head high, golden eyes brimming with tears she was unwilling to shed. Pohatu followed, head down in sorrow, loneliness and shame. Lewa brought up the rear, crying quietly. It had been his fault wise, patient Onua had died, for his weakness, his inability to fight even within his own mind.

The three heroes, battered and bloody, gathered around the shrine. This time Pohatu read aloud, "_Sheluu korekk ven Gaddrekk, yu mukkrumnek éun Kano fi zakk yettek röun. Veshi Nüun woylin- v–something–hi, something, nar Rahik._- Defeat the Dread Gatekeeper, take his thrice-cursed Kanohi and center it here. Wake your dreams- then something about Rahi, I think." the Toa translated.

Gali walked over to the body of their old foe, and now her tears did spill. With any other creature, robbing Kanohi would have seemed wrong, violating everything Gali stood for with life. But this monster, worse than monster, had killed so many...

She grabbed the mask, trying not to look at the face beneath, carried it back in both hands. Lewa took it, trying furiously to keep from crying. He slipped the roughly diamond-shaped Kanohi into the depression carved for it. For three long seconds, nothing happened.

Then a bright light exploded from the shrine. All three Toa backed away from the harsh glow. The Suva shook and exploded, raining rocks across the room. The light condensed, solidified, becoming brighter despite being solid. At the center stood a tall being, taller than Makuta by almost a Matoran-height.

His armor was all precious metals blended, and pure light. His eyes were the palest blue, as were his twin swords. Golden was his skin, with undertones of silver.

"Mata Nui," Gali breathed. The spirit of light smiled at her. The expression warmed her battle-frozen heart. Then he spoke, in a voice like bells.

"I see you defeated my Gatekeeper. He did try so hard to warn you, didn't he? Of course, I knew he wouldn't be strong enough- that would be the reason I kept him, naturally. It wouldn't do to have to wait forever for someone to wake me! But, in any case, this setback will pose no problem in the long run. Soon the Matoran shall be back at work producing their war machines to fuel the fires of above, all thanks to you."

The bright smile in Mata Nui's eyes no longer looked remotely comforting, and chilled rather than warmed. It had become a cruel smirk. His tintinabulous voice clanged like a death knell.

"Why?" Lewa yelled.

"Why, dear Toa? Poor little Toa... if you thought Makuta strong, then why would you be any match for his elder brother?"

And then he killed them with one blow.

_FWAAA-hah-ha-ha-ha! Yes, evil Mata Nui. I know you can't judge a person by their brother (mine), but Mat' and Mak' are brothers, at least by MNOLGI standards, which are generally the ones that count in my stories. Also, my Mata Nui is the oldest. Because little brothers are evil (mine again) and never stop picking on you, and invade your room when you're asleep!  
_

_Completely unrelated to any other evil Mata Nui stories, albeit inspired by reaperofsouls' (BZPower) work in general and his _Blood Brothers_ in particular_

TarawynWorldwalker


End file.
